Another Sea of Dreams: Chapter 2

2

   After I finished dinner and finished my homework, I grabbed the phone and began to call Nelson. I knew his dorm room's phone number by heart now. By the third ring, he didn't answer. I was beginning to get worried, because I needed to talk to him more than ever now. He answered on the fourth ring.

 

   "Hello?" he said with his now mature voice.

   "Hey, Nelson! It's me, Andrea."

   He laughed. "I could've guessed that. You call me almost every day now."

 

   "I know, but I just wanted to talk to you. I was feeling really bored today. I really miss you."

   "I really miss you, too," he said tiredly.

 

   There was a brief pause.

  "I'm about to make the honor roll at school."

   "Wow, that's great!"

   "Yeah, I know. All I need is two more A's, and my name'll be on there."

 

   He sighed. "I wish I was doing that well."

   "Why, what's the matter?"

   "I'm failing some of my classes. Especially theology. I don't think I'll be able to pull my grade up."

 

   "I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe if you study and read more, you'll-----"

   "No, it's no use. I mean, sometimes... sometimes... well..."

   "Sometimes what, Nelson?"

 

   He sighed heavily this time. "Sometimes, I don't even know why I'm here. This whole thing feels useless."

   Useless? i couldn't believe what I was hearing. I might've only been a junior in high school, but I didn't understand how a college education could be of no use. I kept my thoughts to myself, and changed the subject.

 

   "Have you met any girls yet?"

   "Yeah, a few," he said, his voice sounding a little brighter. "One of them, I meet at the coffeeshop every Friday."

   "What's her name?"

   "Margaret. She's pretty nice."

 

   There was silence again, except it wasn't breif.

   "You sound a little tired," I said.

   "I am. I feel like I'm about to fall asleep."

   "Well, don't doze off over the phone," I chuckled.

 

   "I'll try not to."

   I could tell he was sleepy, so I decided not to carry this phone call on for long.

   "How's grandpa?" he said.

   "He's doing okay. He was having chest pains earlier."

   "He needs to relax and stop doing everything."

 

   "I told him the same thing," I said, "but he won't listen to me. He's stubborn."

   "Yeah, stubborn is the word," he said.

 

   We both sighed, and nothing was left to say.

   "Nelson?"

   "Hmm?"

   "I love you," I whispered softly.

 

   "I love you, too," he said , his voice now filled with sleepiness.

   "Well, guess I'll talk to you later."

   "Okay, take care. And make that honor roll."

 

   I giggled. "Thanks. Bye."

   "Bye," he said, and we both clicked off.

***

 

   I loved my friends. Next to Nelson and grandpa, they were all I had. Kristie was my top best friend. I met her last year in guidance consueling. The moment we sat beside each other in the waiting room, we immediately clicked.

 

   "Hey, Andrea! Off to math."

   "Yes," I said as I got my heavy textbook out of my locker. "Today we're having a quiz. All i have to do is get an A on this, and get an A on the test. Once I do, I'll be on the honor roll."

 

"That's great. You know, I've never seen you so happy before. Is anything else going on?"

   "No, not really. I called my brother last night, and that made me happy."

  "How's he doing at that college?"

 

   "Not too well. He's flunking some classes. I really feel for him---- he's only in his sopohmore year, and already he's messing up."

 

   "Give him some time. College is a lot harder than high school."

   I nodded in agreement, even though I already knew that. I didn't care what anybody else said: I was still aching for him to get through college with a future.  Because who knows? He might stay in his sopohmore year there forever. Or even worse: drop out totally.

     

  

  

Reviews

[Havatara]

I liked this one, though there was a lot of dialogue and not much explaining. And the ending was a bit fast. It would have been nice for Kristie to be a sounding board type person, like someone who Andrea told all of her problems, even if they were as personal as these. But it was still fun to read and I can't wait to read the next chapter!